The top ArtsEquator articles of 2021
Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2021, in random order: The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine? by Hoe Su Fern Published on: 20 Feb 2021 “Although the current situation facing…
Podcast 100: Singapore Theatre Year In Review
Listen as speakers Ke Weiliang, Lee Shu Yu, Matt Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia share their thoughts about Singapore theatre in 2021, including observations and shows they found memorable. Mentioned in this episode: ArtsWok, Brown Voices, Checkpoint Theatre, Double…
Year In Review 2021: Singapore Theatre in Statistics
Where did 2021 go? As part of our annual event Year In Review 2021, statistics about 2021 shows were gathered, including those postponed or cancelled. These infographics are produced by ArtsEquator. Discuss, respond and listen as we unpack these statistics and…
JENG JENG JENG: Singapore Theatre Year In Review 2021
JENG JENG JENG…! Year in Review is back! Where did 2021 go? How did the year unravel, and where have we arrived at? In a year where the arts has had to acquiesce to multiple rules, hopeful for a return…
Rethinking contemporaries: Asian Producers’ Platform Speaker Series
By Wennie Yang (690 words, 2-minute read) There is a quiet and perhaps stubborn optimism that underlies the work of a producer. Perhaps one could call it an occupational hazard, always seeking new ways to do things. This spirit seemed…
ANCER Lab 03 Manila: How arts managers are surviving COVID-19
By Wennie Yang (1,200 words, 4-minute read) Pandemic restrictions have put arts and cultural workers and institutions in a bind: choosing between sustaining their missions at times of a global pandemic or ceasing operations altogether. How have Southeast Asian arts…
Performance Making during a Pandemic: Of Innovation, Form and Embeddedness
By Adriana Nordin Manan (1,000 words, 3-minute read) If arts panel discussions are meant to reflect the times, “Critical Responses to Performance-Making in A Post-Pandemic World” positioned itself well: at this stage of the pandemic, it was less about open-ended…
The performing arts industry of Malaysia is drowning
By Joe Hasham (986 words, 2-minute read) As many parts of Southeast Asia are hit by recurrent waves of Covid 19 infections, arts industries across the region face imminent collapse due to prolonged closures and scant state support. In Malaysia,…
Keturunan Ruminah: WhatsApp play on family inheritance
By Azura Farid and Nabilah Said The pandemic led theatre collective HATCH to dream up Keturunan Ruminah (Ruminah’s Family), a play that takes place entirely on WhatsApp. Rightly, HATCH identified the potential of the WhatsApp group chat to be a…
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan
In the latest of our Cakap-Cakap series, ArtsEquator chats with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan who star in Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)’s new play, The Sound Inside, written by by award-winning playwright Adam Rapp. The Sound Inside turns the spotlight…
The future of the arts in Singapore and Australia: Highlights from the Statistically Speaking webinar
ArtsEquator organised a webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing arts audience engagement in Singapore and Australia” on Thursday, 28 January. This panel brought together representatives from the National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council of the Arts to elucidate on…
A Malaysian under lockdown reviews Singapore Art Week 2021
By Ellen Lee (2,500 words, 9-minute read) Looking through the 35-page programme booklet for the 9th edition of Singapore Art Week (SAW), I was fully struck by my Malaysian-ness. Never before have I gone through a brochure for any art…
Statistically Speaking: What the data says about arts audiences in Singapore and Australia
On Thursday, 28 January 11am-12.30pm (GMT +8), representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries in the webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts…
Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia
Representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries, based on research survey data collected in 2019 and 2020. What does the data tell…
The top ArtsEquator articles of 2020
Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2020, in random order: An Elder Millennial’s Guide to Classic Singapore TV & Movies by Joel Tan Published on: 20 Aug 2020 “Purists are undecided on when exactly…
Maduro, online jazz concerts, SIFA: A jazz bar evolves in a pandemic
For former jazz pianist Peter Ng, the past year has been one of great change. Set up in mid-2019, Maduro was envisioned to be a jazz lounge and a whisky bar, but Ng quickly realised – hastened by the pandemic…
Did you want more sleep?: weish knows people are tired of livestreams
For artist weish, who is one-half of electronica duo .gif, this has been an intense year creatively, and one of increased self-scrutiny. Her most recent project, Did you want more sleep?, combines sound, visual and text, and references the artist’s…
Podcast 85: Singapore Theatre, Year in Review
In our end-of-year roundup, Nabilah Said, Naeem Kapadia and Matt Lyon take stock of the year in Singapore theatre, alongside guests Lee Shu Yu from Centre 42 and Max Yam from Arts Republic. This podcast is published as part of…
Why everyone is dancing during the pandemic: The Wandering at SIFA 2020
ArtsEquator speaks to Andy Chia, Natalie Alexandra, Rizman Putra, Russell Morton and Yeo Siew Hua, the creatives behind The Wandering, a dance film about loss connections and a family in crisis, about what it’s like working on the film together,…
Podcast 83: Waiting For The Host by Pangdemonium
Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Waiting For The Host by Pangdemonium. The play is written by Marc Palmieri and directed by Tracie Pang. Waiting For The Host ran from 15 Oct to 1 Nov on SISTIC Live. Stream…
Harrowing and sublime: Topography of Breath 2.0 by Pat Toh
By Chan Sze-Wei (739 words, 4-minute read) In grainy close up, we see segmented views of one woman, fighting to breathe with every fibre of her sinewy body. She grunts, writhes, sweats, hyperventilates. Her body multiplies by video effect but…
Podcast 82: Who’s There & Two Songs and a Story
Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Who’s There by The Transit Ensemble (Singapore/Malaysia/US); and Two Songs and a Story by Checkpoint Theatre. Who’s There ran from 4 – 8 August on Zoom as part of Ice Factory 2020 by…
Bird is the word: Peepbird by The Finger Players
By Nabilah Said (950 words, 4-minute read) If hope is a thing with feathers, then Peepbird, a 60-minute-long non-verbal show, would be it. This offering by The Finger Players was my first live theatre show since COVID – the one…
Transcultural Lullabies: Rohingya and Malay folksongs
Rohingya poet Mayyu Ali and Malaysian artist Sharon Chin collaborate in this meaningful project that looks at Rohingya and Malay lullabies and folksongs. The pairings of songs, which are narrated and sung orally, are further unified with a patterned artwork…
From Here On: Going to the theatre in the time of COVID
By Jocelyn Chng (1,550 words, 5-minute read) Attending From Here On, my first live performance since COVID hit, evoked a very strange mix of emotions in me. Unfortunately, before getting anywhere near the performance itself, the experience of attempting to…
Which Type of Online Arts Audience Are You?
We all miss being able to attend shows physically in theatres, but we’re also quick to adapt. As we watch more and more shows on a screen, what kind of audience members have we become? Take the quiz below to…
Jatiwangi Art Factory: Cultural work that breaks the mould
By Nia Agustina, translation by Eka Wahyuni (1,980 words, 6-minute read) In one corner of West Java, Indonesia, in the Majalengka Regency, a group of volunteers work hand in hand to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), groceries, food, and medical…
ArtsEquator, Deadline Now
by Kathy Rowland ArtsEquator sometimes feels like a mythical creature. Looking back over the past 4 years, it takes the shape of a unicorn, a joyful improbability. With Covid-19, it can weigh like an albatross, cash flow statements instead of…
Pandemic in the Philippines: A cultural sector on its own
By Katrina Stuart Santiago (2,200 words, 8-minute read) When I was first asked to write about “cultural leadership” in the Philippines, I turned up a blank. This is not because we lack cultural institutions that get public funding—we in fact,…
Burning Questions: Can Critics Criticise during a Pandemic?
As the work of artists evolve with the restrictions of COVID-19, do critics also need to reassess how they look at performance? Four critics, Loo Zihan, Teo Xiao Ting, Jocelyn Chng and Germaine Cheng discuss their responses as more and…